Claim My Space

Claim My Space?  What exactly does that mean?  Well, as the new year approaches, one of the biggest changes I want to do is to claim my space.  We bought our house almost six years ago and at that time we put our life’s savings into the deposit.  We didn’t have money to upgrade or splurge on new appliances; we were just so happy and thankful to buy the house.  Over the years I have decorated and we have bought new furniture pieces, but I have realized that we haven’t really stepped it up.  My house is very neutral and clean which is what I like, however it doesn’t have a lot of pizazz.  I want to challenge myself to actually paint the walls and upgrade and update some of the rooms and bathrooms.   

The two rooms I really want to focus on are the guest bedroom and my craft room.  The guest room is filled with the kids’ belongings, but I want to update and decorate that space without a cartoon character comforter. The second room I want to update is my craft space.  Holy Guacamole can this room use the help.  I do have a lot of over sized furniture from IKEA along with patterned cubes that dictate the color scheme.  I would really like to change it up.  Normally I like things tucked away and not on display (i.e. coffee mugs, hair dryers, toasters, etc.) however I am toying with the idea of installing a peg board on one of my craft wall.  I saw this picture online and it has inspired me to change up a bit. 

  

CHANGE IS A GOOD THING! I believe this in all aspects of life, so why can’t I incorporate this mantra into my home decor? 

So this is my challenge to myself.  Here are a few pics of my virtual idea board.  I am collecting ideas and will put the best ones into use.  

 My challenge to you is to visualize what would your dream space would look like?  Do you like a lot of colors or patterns? Do you like bright and whimsical or do you like muted and neutral? Do you set up stations for specific activities such as a stamping or die cut station?  Do you de-clutter or do you hoard?  I would say at current my room is a mixed bag that includes everything. 

Just a little food for thought as we progress into 2015. Well until next time my friends, everyone please have a safe and happy holiday!

A Little Office Fun

One of my favorite things about working in an office is secret Santa, you've been Boo'd, and other little occasions where you mysteriously gift your coworkers. This year I decided to silently and anonymously put this on our receptionist's desk. It is funny to hear her keep asking who is responsible. I know she loves it and it made her feel special that she was thought of.

For this project I bought a mason jar, covered  the top with Christmas washi tape and filled it with M&M's. The tag is a printable I found online, that I attached with some raffia. Top it all off with some ribbon and its complete. What do you think? 

Just a little something to keep the atmosphere light and fun.

That's my project share for today, I hope you all like it. Until next time, have a happy holiday season! 

Jazz Up Store Provided Wrap

For this project I will show you how to jazz up the free wrap given by some stores. Because I am frugal and don't like to spend money if I don't have to, I will use bags, boxes, and ribbon if provided. At Bath and Body Works, they provide free bags, tags, and ribbon and I will use it. For today's project I am making a teacher gift for my niece's kindergarten teacher. I used the bag and ribbon provided, but I also attached a handmade tag I made using Stampin Up stamps and tag topper punch. I also added a jingle bell for a little extra Christmas joy. Here it is!

And that is it. Just a few small handmade touches really adds to the packaging and gives it a more loving vibe. I think this is thoughtful, considering the fact that the receiver of the gift is a warm and loving woman who inspires small children all day.  So that is all my friends, see ya next time. 

Alternative Christmas Packaging

Today I am scrap lifting a brilliant idea from my friend Leticia "Crafty Amiga". For today's project I am making a teacher gift for my nephews teacher. This year he has a male teacher so the standby Bath and Body works gift won't work. For this gift I put together a great gift for a coffee drinker.

I used a disposable food container and jazzed it up a bit. I adhered some patterned scrapbook paper to the top of the container using Mod Podge and then added some curling ribbon to the inside for padding ( I didn't have any shred). With that just little bit of prep, my package is now ready. To finish it off, I added 4 K-cups of coffee, some sugar packets, closed the lid, tied more curling ribbon around the container and attached a tag. And voile!  Project complete.

There you have a festive, yet not too girly gift perfect for a teacher, co worker, or anyone else you want to thank this holiday season. I hope you have enjoyed my alternative gift packaging. Once again, thank you Leticia for such a great idea. I'm so happy with my take on your brilliant idea. 

Until next time my friends, have a great day! 

Quick and Easy Tags

Here are some of my quick and easy tags I made using various stamps, card stock, and some Stampin Up punches. I think that you can make tags from free printable's you find online, journal cards from Project Life kits, and also the cut apart sheet found in most collections. My quick share is here to inspire you today to do a simple DIY like tags. They look great on packages as well as on platters of goodies you may bring to a holiday party.

This tag is attached with an eyelet and I just used some simple bakers twine to add the perfect finishing touch to it. 

See what a little fancy eyelash yarn and self adhesive bling can do to jazz up this tag? I love this project because it is fast, easy, and of course these tags are one of a kind.  

That is all for today, but I hope I have inspired you to do a little something creative his holiday season.